June 2013

The Kansas City Plant celebrated yet another milestone at the National Security Campus with a recent visit from NNSA’s Steve Goodrum, Assistant Deputy Administrator for Stockpile Management.

Employees gathered to celebrate the delivery of the continuous and seamless W76-1 Fireset and AF&F production capability throughout the move to the National Security Campus. Being one of the first production areas to move, the team partnered with NNSA and Sandia National Laboratories to identify and procure equipment, tooling, fixtures and gauges in time to support dual operations during relocation.

The effort included:

• 300+ items totaling more than $13 million procured and relocated without incident,

• 10 testers moved and four new testers built, and

• 72 large pieces of equipment spanning across seven different departments moved.

Goodrum spoke about the importance of the work done at KCP as the first facility to pick up and move within the National Security Enterprise and congratulated employees on their efforts on executing on commitments while keeping safety and security a priority.

The National Security Campus is a significant part of DOE’s shift to a more efficient 21st century Nuclear Security Enterprise. The modern campus showcases innovation and cost savings, highlighted by environmentally friendly features and space management.

In January, KCP began the complex task of moving manufacturing, laboratory and office equipment from its current location at the Bannister Federal Complex. Over the 19-month relocation schedule, about 3,000 truckloads will transport more than 2,800 pieces of equipment ranging from desk size to tractor trailer size. Estimates are that the entire move will use 30,000 crates – which if stacked would be more than five times the height of Mount Everest.

About the photos:(above) Goodrum speaks with KCP electrical engineer Chris Donnelly about the importance of the KCP mission.(below) Goodrum congratulated KCP employees for achieving an important production milestone during move to the National Security Campus.

Sandia National Laboratories recently hosted the seventh annual Western National Robot Rodeo and Capability Exercise, a five-day event that brought together civilian and military bomb squad teams from across the country to see who can most effectively defuse dangerous situations with the help of robots.

Pantexans showed their community spirit last week when employees, along with their families and friends, volunteered their time at two local nonprofit organizations.

More than 40 volunteers came to an event called America Supports You, Texas to assemble care packages for our troops in Afghanistan. America Supports You, Texas was founded in 2005 to create awareness and support for active military men and women, as well as veterans in our area. More than 200 boxes filled with snacks, personal care items and books were mailed overseas the next morning.

Another group of Pantexans and their families went to the High Plains Food Bank to lend a hand with its community garden. The garden was severely damaged in hail storms last month. The majority of the garden’s produce benefits children and afterschool programs throughout the year.

The garden has only two full-time employees and relies heavily on volunteers to help out. With the help of the Pantexan volunteers, the garden is expected to recover and produce fruits and vegetables well into the fall season.

Nonprofit organizations received more than $180,000 from Los Alamos National Security (LANS), LLC, during a recent recognition event in Los Alamos.

LANS contributions are determined by the number of volunteer hours logged by Los Alamos National Laboratory employees and retirees through a web-based organization called VolunteerMatch and through the Los Alamos Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP).

NNSA’s Sequoia supercomputer, housed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is now listed as the third fastest supercomputer in the world according to the industry-standard Top500 list.

Sequoia, which recently completed its transition to classified computing in support of NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship Program, helps ensure the safety, security and effectiveness of the nation’s aging nuclear weapons stockpile without the use of underground testing. Sequoia was first delivered in 2011 and has achieved 17.17 petaflops on the Linpack benchmark using 1,572,864 cores. Sequoia is also one of the most energy efficient systems on the list, consuming a total of 7.84 MW and delivering 2,031.6 Mflops/W.

Vulcan made its first appearance on the Top500 list at No. 8. DOE and NNSA have four supercomputers in the first 10 of the Top500.

The Nevada Field Office (NFO) and its contract partner, the National Security Technologies (NSTec) Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) Aviation Department, have received the 2012 U.S. Department of Energy Jeff Snow Aviation Program Memorial Award. This is the fifth time in nine years that the NFO team has been recognized as the most outstanding DOE aviation program. Operating out of Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas and Joint Base Andrews, the NFO team provides aerial support to NNSA's Office of Emergency Response.

Les Winfield, NFO Aviation Manager, received the 2012 DOE Federal Aviation Management Professional Award. He is recognized for providing outstanding management and oversight of the NSTec RSL Aerial Measuring System operations at Nellis and Andrews.

James Williams, Director of Maintenance for WSI-SRS Aviation Operations Department at the Savannah River Site, is the recipient of the 2012 John Cooley Aviation Operations/Support Professional Memorial Award. His outstanding management and leadership skills created a safe and efficient work environment, as well as ensured all maintenance technicians were well trained and knowledgeable in all aspects of the aircraft at Savannah River.

Tim Rourke, NFO Aviation Safety Officer, won the 2012 DOE Aviation Safety Professional Award. Rourke’s approach to safety and risk management of both ground and flight safety issues provided an objective assessment of program operational risks to NSTec senior managers. He recommended mitigation controls to reduce risks to the lowest practical level to permit aircrews to perform their critical national security mission.

The awards were announced by the DOE Office of Aviation Management -- each recipient will be honored at a ceremony in Alexandria, Va., on July 18.

Civic organization Los Barrios de Amarillo honored B&W Pantex for its “Outstanding Community Service” this weekend. Los Barrios recognized B&W Pantex for its support of the “Step Up To Success” program, which connects young people with professionals in a variety of career fields that the students may want to pursue. Debra Halliday, community relations coordinator, accepted the award on behalf of the company. Halliday is joined in the photo by Los Barrios officials, from left, Historian Geo Cruz, Vice President Zeke Castro and President Sarena San Miguel.

At the recent ASM International Materials Camp, sixteen students got to check out almost a half-million dollars’ worth of lab equipment – including a precision cutoff saw, hot mounting press, specimen polisher, and scanning electron microscope. The week-long camp is hosted by Y-12, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tech 2020 and UT Knoxville, and is designed to expose students to materials science.

The participants learned how to prepare material samples for prosthetic implants, and then used a state-of-the-art optical microscope and digital imaging to identify signs of material failure. Y-12 engineer Steve Dekanich, who co-chairs the camp, remarked on the students’ ability to quickly master the advanced equipment.

About the photos:(Left) Student Patricia Edou loads a material sample into an Hitachi electron microscope while fellow student, Justin Zanoni, prepares another sample.(Right) Student Hunter Stombaugh loads a material sample into the Saphir 550.3, a laboratory instrument used to grind and polish samples before placing them in an electron microscope for analysis.

The Aiken County Robotics Team “M’Aiken Magic” was recently revived after receiving $10,000 in donations from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. The team comprises local middle school and high school students who work in groups to build robots capable of completing specified tasks. Competing in regional, state and world competitions, the students gain valuable experience as well as exposure to scientific and engineering concepts.

Last year, despite winning a world championship, the team lost almost half of its funding and multiple sponsors. SRNS President Dwayne Wilson explained that the donation, in addition to supporting local students, is an investment in the next generation of engineers, technicians and scientists.

The annual Laboratory Directed Research and Development program update was held this week in Washington, D.C. Experts from NNSA, Nevada National Security Site and Sandia, Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories attended and shared insights on successful projects and ongoing research. This year’s highlighted subject areas were Materials in Extremes, Big Data to Decisions, and Energy Use Impacts and Mitigation.

Keynote remarks were presented by:

Robert Meisner, Director, NNSA Laboratory Directed Research and Development/Site Directed Research and Development ProgramsWilliam Priedhorsky, LDRD Program Director at Los Alamos National LaboratorySheryl Martinez, LDRD Program Director at Sandia National LaboratoriesWilliam Craig, LDRD Program Director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory